Greene King customers can now reserve a table and pre-book for live TV sports fixtures or their favourite in-pub games more easily thanks to a multi-million-pound digital upgrade to the booking system.
The enhanced booking journey has been redesigned to show clearer messaging and live, real-time availability. It has been rolled out across 1,600 Greene King managed pubs from this month and works on mobile phone, tablet and desktop. Bookings can be made through the Greene King app or directly on pub websites.
It reinforces the growing trend to pre-book pub visits as Greene King reports it is taking an average of 35,000 booked sports covers per month – enough to fill Wembley Stadium over four times each year.
Analysis of bookings conversion rates showed the main reason that online bookings were abandoned was due to unavailability of tables at selected times and large party sizes. The latest system has clear messaging with ‘live’ availability when customers start the booking and has more information on group reservations.
It also allows customers to choose from a variety of menus to best suit the occasion they wish to celebrate and pick whether they wish to sit in the bar or restaurant, as well as showing availability to pre-order meals and review the associated costs.
A further feature of the new system is the best-in-class sports booking journey, so customers can now select which sport and which fixture they wish to book for. In addition to TV sports matches, customers can also book a slot to play pool, darts or shuffleboard at their chosen pub with these facilities.
Greene King’s chief operations officer, Clair Preston-Beer, said: “This is a significant step in the evolution of our booking system and has been designed with customers at the forefront. There is greater transparency, clearer tabs and it’s easier to use, helping to avoid any unnecessary disappointment. There is less scrolling and more clarity. You can pick when and where you want drinks, dining and drinks, or sport. We know there is little more frustrating than seeing an error message pop up when you are trying to book something online and that’s what we’re tackling so we can elevate the customer booking experience.
“Research shows people are choosing to plan ahead more when they are going out so we want our customers to know what is available as soon as they start looking to visit our pub. We will continue to monitor and improve our booking system and experience so customers can book time to spend in our pubs without any hassle or glitches. At the same time, it’s improving our overall operational excellence and helping our pub teams spend quality time with customers.”
The improvements to Greene King’s booking system are part of the company’s multi-million-pound digital investment in 2025, which includes the evolution of the customer app and the introduction of loyalty rewards. Greene King is optimising the benefits of the latest technology to improve customers’ pub experiences from the moment they start booking a drink, meal or sport, through to payment and rewards, alongside its core traditional in-person welcome and service values.
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